(Closed) Thinking about getting into photography!

I’m thinking about getting into the photography business and I was wondering if any of you can offer any helpful advice or guidance on how to get started with this! What is the best camera and editing software to start off with? Any recommendations are much appreciated! Thank you!

Photoshop elements is an easy way to learn photoshop. I got a book on it and went through the tutorial (with CD) and found it great – though it took some time to learn. It was less than 100 dollars.

I started off with a Nikon D40, I think a Nikon5100 is similiar, and upgraded to a D90 later on, which I loved.

The thing about photography. depending on where you live. there’s a TON of competition. People can be really snarky and it’s hard to get in to and make a living unless you spend a ton. take classes. etc. If you look at any Craigslist “creative” section you’ll see tons of wannabee photogs advertising they’ll do photos for cheap portfolio building etc – same with college campuses, but a lot of the times their photos…honestly…don’t look well.

The kind you see in studios are probably using CS6, speedlights, other lighting. filters etc.

I did all this just to take photos of friends, kids etc. I did a wedding as a favour for someone and he loved his photos but I didnt charge.

@greeneyedgoddess:What sort of photography are you interested in? Are you involved in the field at all now? Do you belong to camera clubs/ exhibit your work? Have your photographs been published in any magazines? Do you already own professional grade lens(es) and body or bodies? The answers will help us guide you….

@habibti: Thank you for all the info! I know it’s a competitive business and I’m not really looking to make tons of money with it…more or less just a fun way to bring in some extra money as I’m a stay at home mom 🙂 But I’ll definitely look into that photoshop program! My fiancé is looking at one of the higher end sony cameras (not exactly sure which model).

@KateByDesign: Good advice! I completely agree that you should start off simple while learning and then you can always upgrade later on. Thanks!

I’m a photographer. Trained, qualified and fairly well known in my field. None of this occurred by accident or by me suddenly thinking “Oh hey! I think I’ll get into photography”. Instead, it took years of hard work and expenditure. To be brutally honest, there are already too many photographers out there chasing work and it isn’t a business for the faint-hearted.

I’d never discourage anyone from getting huge pleasure from developing their photography skills but if you plan to get into photography on the basis that you can change career and make money from it you need to be prepared for this to be a great deal harder than you might imagine.

I’d recommend getting a decent starter SLR – the Nikon D5100 is a good choice – and also take some classes to learn the technicalities. Without this knowledge you will literally be shooting in the dark.

@greeneyedgoddess: I guess I was more trying to say that if you start charging at some point (even if it’s just a “small” amount of money on the side), make sure to go through all of the legal hoops so you’re doing everything legit. As in get a business license, liability insurance, charge your state tax, and file the appropriate taxes at the end of the year.

Annnnnd another big tip…don’t get a Sony 🙂 90% of the professional market either have a Nikon or Canon, and it’s for a reason. Most tutorials you will read up on will focus on either one of these brands and make it easier for you to learn.

I guess it would depend on how serious you want to potentially get. If you are actually planning to charge and sell your products, start saving $$. The initial expenses can be extremely hefty. Programs – Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom. I’d say start with a midlevel camera body – Nikon or Canon. Your expenses will go into your lenses and you’ll find that for great lenses, they’ll often run you as much or more than the camera body. If you’re just “testing the water” and think you might change your mind about going in to photography, I’d just pick up a basic kit camera and lens and play around with it first.

There’s an interesting transition into the mirrorless cameras now and I have a slight feeling that the industry might be making a shift though. I’d do some research and see what you think – I know a lot of wedding photographers upgraded their Canon 5D MarkII to the Mark III which would lead me to believe that traditional digitial still has a long shelf life left…but I’ve seen some amazing pro’s using the mirrorless and the results are amazing.

Also all the training and expensive equipment in the world will do nothing for you if you don’t have the eye for it.

Get a Nikon or Canon, get some books about photography, learn about aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Learn how to use your camera NOT in automatic mode. Learn about lighting. Get out there and take photos. Don’t even think about editing software yet. Learn how to take a picture that’s close to perfect straight out of the camera. Editing is for enhancing good photos, not saving terrible ones.